Three months before the 20th edition of Black list Hits inboxes all over town Franklin Leonard The established platform is expanding its horizons into novels.
“The Black List’s core mission has always been to discover, support, and amplify exceptional writing—providing it with a platform and visibility based on its merits,” Leonard said today, moving toward fiction with manuscript submissions and connections to the world. Adaptation for TV and film. “Expansion in literature is a natural progression.
“Right now, there are brilliant writers around the world who don’t have access to high-quality, responsible feedback, and whose work disappears for reasons completely unrelated to how good it is,” adds Black List’s CEO. “It’s a huge market failure, and that changes today. I have no doubt that the Black List will find extraordinary manuscripts that will become hugely popular published novels and film and television adaptations. Publishers and film and television professionals who seek them here Kudos to them in advance. I look forward to reading and watching them when they do.
Learn more about Blacklist expansion in fiction here
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The Black List in Fiction will be launched by Randy Winston, with new initiatives such as the genre-specific Unpublished Novel Prize and a partnership with Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films, for a $25,000 prize for the option of unpublished manuscripts. “Randy’s resume and reputation in the book world speaks for itself,” Leonard said of the former director of writing programs and former fiction editor at The Center for Fiction. slice Literary magazine, “But the work he has done since joining the team in February will have everyone excited about the future. Today’s announcements are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Part of that iceberg will be Winston Fronted Read the Acknowledgments. A series of free and live virtual talks hosted by Winston will feature professionals from various aspects of the publishing world talking about their experiences and learnings from the industry.
Furthermore, when it comes to more initiatives, viz Deadpool Producer Kinberg says: “I’m a huge fan of what Franklin and The Black List have been able to accomplish, discovering new remarkable screenplays that the industry didn’t know about before. I am very excited to be a part of this new chapter with them.”
If The Black List’s track record to date is any indication, the novel’s move into the multiverse seems fairly stable, and a well-arbitrated avenue for both acclaimed books and hot alternatives.
Since the first Black List in 2005, over 440 screenplays of the program’s selections have been produced, grossing over $30 billion at the box office worldwide. Turning from the bottom line to the trophy cabinet, Black List movies have won 54 Academy Awards out of 267 nominations, including a quarter of the last 12 Best Picture Oscars and nearly half of the last 28 Best Screenplay Oscars. The industry survey includes the notable titles named earlier Slumdog Millionaire, Argo, King’s Speech, Spotlight, free cow, Queen and Slim, I, Tonya, All the money in the world, Bird box, Post And Roman J. Israel, Esq.
The Black List plans to unveil more fictional partnerships in the coming months. For now, here are the programs the new initiative is offering:
Black List Unpublished Novel Award
The Unpublished Novel Award will celebrate outstanding manuscripts in seven genres: Children’s and Young Adult, Crime and Mystery, Horror, Literary Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Thriller and Suspense. A panel of distinguished judges with backgrounds in book publishing, film and television will select one exceptional manuscript in each genre to receive a $10,000 grant to support it on its journey to publication. Recipients will retain all rights to their manuscripts and will be free to sell them whenever and wherever they wish. (Note: Manuscripts cannot be under contract at any time during grant consideration; self-published novels will not be accepted).
Judges for the 2025 Unpublished Novel Prize include Laver Burton, Kathy Belden, Roxanne Gay, Tenanareeve Due, Meredith Kefel Simonoff, Emily Nemans, Radhika Jones, Dhonielle Clayton, Brendan Keely, Lupita Aquino, Nikita Singh, Marie-Helenino, Baccarino, . Tracy Thomas, Duvall Austin, Eric Simonoff, Brendan Keely, Tessa ThompsonGraham Moore, Molly Glick, Howie Sanders, Gary Vitta, Annie Lakes, Mike Flanagan, Ryan Turek, Isaac Klausner, Claire Mazur, Erica Cerullo, with more ads.
Submissions for the Unpublished Novel Award are now open at blcklst.com. The submission window will close in summer 2025.
Simon Kinberg’s partnership with Genre Films for unpublished manuscripts
Blacklist also partnered with Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films (The Martian, Deadpool, Cinderella) to receive an 18-month option for $25,000 to identify an outstanding unpublished manuscript; The alliance embodies Black List’s commitment to bridging the gap between the film and publishing industries.
The Genre Films Manuscript Partnership welcomes manuscript submissions from all genres, with a special emphasis on character-driven work in the elevated sci-fi, spy thriller and action-adventure space. Submitted manuscripts must not be under film or television contract elsewhere.
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